Ceramic installation paper prototype construction (ballpoint pen drawings)

Ballpoint pen drawing paper prototype construction

For the purpose of this ceramic installation I decided to photostat the ballpoint pen drawings including inspirational images such as the dragon on the moonflask discussed below, to construct a paper prototype that can be altered to develop the creative narrative for the animation and the artist book.

Paper prototype construction.

Landscape of decoy-ducks and three sister 'koppies'
(paper construction of ball point pen drawings)

The dragon to be animated and projected onto the ceramic installation titled, and the ship sails on (see previous post) is taken from a masterfully painted rare blue and white Dragon Moonflask (seal mark and period of Qianlong), cited in a Sotheby's auction catalogue. The moonflask was auctioned in 2007 and fetched $ 2.8 million.

Detail of dragon on rare 'moonflask'

A fine and rare blue and white 'Dragon' moonflask - seal mark and period of Qianlong.

The broad voluptious body set on a short splayed oval foot, the trumpet shaped neck set with a pair of pierced stylised archaic qilong handles, crisply carved with c-scroll motifs, richly painted in deep tones of cobalt blue with a scaly sinuous five-clawed dragon to either side, contesting a centralised flaming pearl, amongst cloud scrolls above a crashing wave border, the neck, foot and sides painted with ten stylised bats.

A fine and rare blue and white Dragon moonflask

This magnificent 'Dragon' moonflask appears to be the only recorded example of a moonflask of this type decorated in blue-and-white. It would have been highly prized by the Qianlong emperor who had penchant for technically innovative and artistically challenging pieces. During his reign the refinement of the material and craftsmanship allowed potters to become highly ambitious in their repertoire. the making of this particular flask required considerable expertise from the potter who borrowed extensively from archaic styles while creating a piece that was contemporary.  

The above images, especially the flask on the left, showcase other examples of moonflasks with painted dragons that may have inspired the potter. (Cited in Sotheby's catalogue, London 7 November 2007:200-201)